As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems often incorporate multi-phase voltage regulators to ensure that information handling resources are consistently supplied with necessary electrical current. Some traditional multi-phase voltage regulators utilize phase shedding, whereby unneeded phases are configured to cease supplying electrical current. Phase shedding occurs when electrical current demand decreases to a threshold level in which the multi-phase voltage regulator can disable a phase and still supply the necessary electrical current.
One problem with some traditional multi-phase voltage regulators is that the phases may shed in the same order. This can cause the phases to suffer operational stress disproportionately. The first phase to shed suffers less operational stress than every consecutive phase to shed, and, in many traditional regulators, one phase never sheds. The uneven distribution of operational stress wastes the resources of the voltage regulator. The last phase may fail due to accumulated operational stress while the first shed phase has suffered relatively little operational stress. The decreased operational lifespan of the last phase causes decreased operational lifetime for the voltage regulator.
Additionally, the longer a phase has been active, the higher its operational temperature. Higher operational temperature increases thermal resistance which causes increased power loss, and decreases the range of current that the voltage regulator can deliver. The increased temperature also raises the temperature of other system resources which negatively affects their performance. These faults cause overall system reliability to suffer.